Robotic arm controlled by thought paralyzed man

In April 2011, a paralyzed woman named Cathy Hutchinson, for the first time after almost 15 years, was taken with a cup of drink, using a robotic arm controlled by her thoughts.

Hutchinson was paralyzed when she suffered a car accident that damaged her brain, turning off almost all of her motor functions from the rest of the body. She was left unable to speak or move.

The project, called BrainGate2 can move us closer to the day when the prosthetic or robotic arms will be able to restore people’s freedom of movement. This - the first controlled clinical trial of a human brain computerized limbs for people, according to the report neuroscientist John Donoghue of Brown University and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Donohue - one of the leading researchers in the test, the results of which were published in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.

"The desire to number 1 in many patients - a return of the hand," said Donohue.

The project BrainGate - this collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs, Brown University, the General Hospital of the State of Massachusetts, Harvard Medical School and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), which is designed and this manipulator.

The project BrainGate, got his first success with the people in 2006, when a patient named Matt Nagle, who was paralyzed in an accident, was able to demonstrate control of a computer mouse cursor by using the first version of BrainGate.

Donoghue and his colleagues said that more years will pass before the device will be available to patients, moreover, it still must be approved by the Office of the Food and Drug Administration.